THE FORMER chief constable of West Midlands Police has been reappointed to the role.
Craig Guildford stepped down from the role in November but applied to take up his previous role as part of the national Retire and Re-Join scheme.
The West Midlands Police and Crime Panel approved his reappointment to re-join West Midlands Police as Chief Constable on December 16, after 31 days of retirement.
Had Mr Guildford stayed in post his pension would have begun to diminish in value.
Mr Guildford said: “I’m pleased that the Police and Crime Commissioner and the region’s Police and Crime Panel have offered me their full support and allowed me to continue to serve as your Chief Constable in the West Midlands.
“My ambition is to see West Midlands Police continue to improve at the pace it has been.
“I remain fully committed to delivering sustained performance improvements and hugely value the work that our officers and staff undertake on a daily basis in serving the people of the West Midlands.”
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said: “I am pleased the West Midlands Police and Crime Panel has approved the reappointment of Craig Guildford as Chief Constable.
“Since Mr Guildford’s appointment to West Midlands Police in 2022 he has ensured the force has improved in many areas.
“In particular, he has significantly improved the 999 and 101 performance so that the force is now one of the fastest in the country when it comes to answering the phone when people need help from the police.
“West Midlands Police, whilst under the leadership of Mr Guildford, together with partners, has driven down crime by 10 per cent in the last year. Specifically, robbery is down, burglary is down, car theft is down and youth violence is down.
“Mr Guildford knows I expect this progress and hard work to be maintained and I look forward to continuing to work with him when he takes up the post of Chief Constable, once more, on December 16.”
